Thanks To Strong Home Market, Carrefour Sales Surge

PARIS – Carrefour, the world’s second-largest retailer after Wal-Mart, on Wednesday reported a 9.1 percent increase in second-quarter sales. The sales increase was driven by strong performance in its home market of France as well as in Asia and Latin America, offsetting weak consumer spending and tough competition in the rest of Europe.

Carrefour said sales in the three months ended June 30 rose to 21.38 billion euros, or $26.9 billion. For the first half, Carrefour reported sales growth of 8.7 percent to 41.8 billion euros, or $52.2 billion. Dollar figures represent the average exchange rate.